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Din Thomas retires from cornering after Gillian Robertson’s UFC 330 loss

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Din Thomas retires from cornering after Gillian Robertson’s UFC 330 loss
Din
Thomas is done cornering fighters after Gillian
Robertson's recent defeat.

Thomas was in Robertson's corner as she challenged Mackenzie
Dern for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship strawweight title at UFC
330 in Philadelphia. Robertson had no answer for Dern on the
mat and in the stand-up, making for a lackluster performance and a
one-sided title retention for the champ.

Din Thomas on no longer cornering fighters after UFC 330: ‘It's
not fair to them'

Thomas subsequently announced his retirement from cornering during
the UFC 330 post-show. The former UFC fighter explained that he
wanted to see Robertson through as far as she could reach and
believes the failed title bid might have been the height of success
that Robertson can achieve in the sport.

While Thomas will continue to help fighters, he doesn't want to
operate as a cornerman, as it takes a lot of commitment.

“I told myself I would continue to do this until I took Gillian as
far as she could go,†Thomas said. “I think that might be as far as
she can go and I am officially retiring from cornering fighters
tonight. I'm doing the Matt Serra,
I'm no longer cornering fighters… I'll still work with guys. I just
don't want to go down the road. It's a lot of work; it's a lot of
stress. You got to be there all week. I don't cut weight with them;
it's not fair to them. They need somebody who's going to put in
that type of work in with them.â€

Thomas (26-9) was a semifinalist in “The Ultimate Fighter†in 2006
and went on to have three short stints in the UFC. He retired from
fighting in 2013 and has been working as an analyst with the UFC
for the past few years.

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MMA

Chidi Njokuani explains bizarre UFC 330 weigh-in mix-up

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Chidi Njokuani explains bizarre UFC 330 weigh-in mix-up
Chidi
Njokuani stood his ground against the Pennsylvania State
Athletic Commission.

Njokuani scored an upset win over Joel
Alvarez via unanimous decision at UFC
330. “Chidi Bang Bang†subsequently explained why he had to
step on the scales twice at the official weigh-ins before the
fight.

Chidi Njokuani says faulty scale reading led to second UFC 330
weigh-in

Njokuani initially weighed in half a pound over the non-title
171-pound limit, before returning shortly after to successfully
make weight behind the privacy screen. He blames the confusion on
athletic commission officials.

Njokuani claims he had made weight with his underwear on backstage
on the digital scales. When he missed weight on the official scale,
the commission asked him to cut the remaining weight. However, he
says he refused to cut weight any further, even jokingly
threatening the official in charge of the scales.

“They make us weigh in on the digital scale in the back first,â€
Njokuani said at the post-fight press conference. “They
double-check, make sure you're on weight before you go out there… I
weighed in on the scale in the back with my underwear on and I was
on weight. So, they were like, ‘Alright, go out there and weigh
yourself.' And then I was a pound heavy. That's why I was looking
at the commission; I didn't know what was going on. They’re like,
‘You’re going to have to cut,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to cut
anything.’ I’m going to cut this motherf*cker if he doesn’t get his
sh*t together. They tried it again, put the scale on the right
weight and then I stepped on and it worked out.â€

With his win over Alvarez, Njokuani snapped a two-fight skid and
improved his record to 26-12.

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MMA

Jalin Turner explains how he handled the burden of hurting his opponents

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Jalin Turner explains how he handled the burden of hurting his opponents
Jalin
Turner is no longer disturbed by the thought of doing damage to
his opponents.

Turner (16-9) had briefly retired last year following a submission
loss to Ignacio
Bahamondes. “The Tarantula†revealed that the thought of
hurting his counterparts was taking a toll on him. Turner was
especially scarred by a violent knockout win over King Green
and a back-and-forth clash against Dan
Hooker.

However, Turner has since returned to action and scored two
first-round knockout wins in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. He opened up about the same
after his latest victory.

Jalin Turner reveals change in mindset that makes fighting
‘more peaceful'

Turner viciously dispatched Kaue
Fernandes with a left hook at UFC
330. While he's previously stated that the violence of mixed
martial arts bothered him, the 31-year-old has since changed his
perspective.

The American has realized that his opponents are also sharing the
Octagon with him because of their love for the sport. Turner now
knows that getting hurt is inevitable in a sport like MMA. His
change in perspective has eased the burden in his mind of punishing
his opponents.

“The [King Green] and Dan fights got to me,†Turner told Full Send
MMA. “All those fights got to me. But now I know that I'm here and
it's not because of me. It's so much more past than just I'm trying
to hurt people; I'm trying to beat people up… Now, the person
across the Octagon from me loves what they do as much as I do. When
I started thinking about it like that, that makes it a little bit
more peaceful.â€

Turner was riding a five-fight finishing streak in 2022 before
dropping four of his next five. In one of those losses, Turner
walked off after knocking down Renato
Carneiro, only for the Brazilian to get back up and turn the
tables, stopping him later on. While his stock briefly plummeted,
his last two knockout wins have reminded fans of the threat he
poses.

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MMA

Gillian Robertson's coach announces retirement following UFC 330 loss: "I'm no longer cornering fighters"

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Gillian Robertson's coach announces retirement following UFC 330 loss: "I'm no longer cornering fighters"

Gillian Robertson fell short in her bid for UFC gold this past Saturday, and now her head coach has retired from cornering.

Din Thomas, a renowned MMA coach and UFC on Paramount+ analyst, appeared on the UFC 330 post-fight show after Robertson was defeated by women's strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern. Thomas announced that his time cornering athletes is over (via MMAFighting).

“For my announcement — I do have an announcement for you guys — I told myself I would continue to do this until I took Gillian as far as she could go; I think that might be as far as she can go, and I am officially retiring from cornering fighters tonight. I'm doing the Matt Serra: I'm no longer cornering fighters,†Thomas said.

Thomas would've been completely done sooner, but he wanted to coach Robertson for the biggest bout of her prizefighting career.

“It's just, I told myself that I would do this with her, I would see her journey out, and take her as far as I think she can go. And this might be as far as she can go,†Thomas said. “Listen, I'm the host of Deep Waters now [laughs]. …

While Thomas won't be giving corner advice to anyone moving forward, he still plans on mentoring some fighters.

“I'll still work with guys; it's just a matter of going down that road with cornering. It's a lot of work. It's a lot of work, it's a lot of stress. It's a lot of work; you've got to be there all week.â€

Some have criticized Thomas for the timing of his retirement announcement, and have even scolded him for seemingly saying that Robertson has peaked. Even UFC play-by-play ace Jon Anik took issue with the way Thomas handled his exit from cornering.

Do you think Din Thomas made a mistake announcing his retirement right after Gillian Robertson's loss, or do you not have an issue with it? Sound off in the comments below.

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


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